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Utah Smelter Power Plant — United States of America

Coal power plant in Utah, United States of America. Approximate location 40.721589, -112.198006.

CoalUtahUnited States of Americasubcritical

Utah Smelter Power Plant is a 132 MW coal power station in Utah, United States of America. It is operated by Kennecott Utah Copper LLC [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 165k homes (estimated). It ranks #2424 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1943, it is around 83 years old — an older, legacy facility. In context, coal supplies about 16.3% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

132MW installed capacity
165,188homes powered (est.)
1943commissioned (~83 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id GEM_coa_utahsmelter_unite.

Data status

Known data

FacilityUtah Smelter Power Plant GEM-coal
CountryUnited States of America · Utah GEM-coal
Coordinates40.721589, -112.198006 GEM-coal
FuelCoal GEM-coal
MW installed capacity132 MW GEM GCPT; source record
OwnerKennecott Utah Copper LLC [100%] GEM-coal
Commissioned1943 GEM-coal
Technologysubcritical GEM-coal

Calculated from dataset

CO₂ emissions578,160 t CO₂·a⁻¹ calculated
Capacity rank in country#2424 / 10884 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#635 / 802 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.24× · 558 MW · n=802 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent165,188 calculated
Environmental severityC2 · 32/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.

capacity: GEM GCPT; fuel: GEM GCPT

In context: how this plant compares

At 132 MW, Utah Smelter Power Plant is below the median coal plant in United States of America (558 MW). Technically it is described as subcritical. Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Share of United States of America coal capacity
less than 0.1% of 621,194 MW across 802 plants in this dataset
Age among peers
7 of 745 dated coal plants in United States of America are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Capacity vs largest coal plants in United States of America

W A Parish: 3,953 MW4kW A ParishScherer: 3,564 MW4kSchererScherer Steam Generating Station: 3,564 MW4kScherer St…Bowen: 3,499 MW3kBowenPlant Bowen: 3,499 MW3kPlant BowenCrystal River Energy Complex: 3,448 MW3kCrystal Ri…Gibson: 3,340 MW3kGibsonGibson Generating Station: 3,340 MW3kGibson Gen…

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Kennecott Utah Copper LLC [100%].

Climate zone & how it works

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 40.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

~18°Ctypical annual mean
~27°Ctypical warm-season mean
Humid subtropical: four distinct seasons — cold winters and warm summers

Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a mild atmospheric environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C2 — Low), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C2ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
32/100environmental-severity index
25.5°Cseasonal temperature swing
937 kmdistance to coast

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #635 largest coal power plant of 802 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 802 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 621,194 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 40.721589, -112.198006 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Utah Smelter Power Plant?

Utah Smelter Power Plant is a 132 MW coal power plant in Utah, United States of America, commissioned in 1943.

Who operates Utah Smelter Power Plant?

Utah Smelter Power Plant is operated by Kennecott Utah Copper LLC [100%].

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